Mio To Launch Strapless Heart-Rate Monitor

Competitor.com: What has the support from the Kickstarter community been like?

Dickinson: We were so excited to have reached our goal of $100,000 after five days. Pre-sales continue to be strong and it looks like we are on track to collect about $500,000 in pledges or more by the end of the 44 days the project was set to run. I‘d say that is a pretty good endorsement of the market demand for Alpha.

Competitor.com: Is it too late for individuals to invest in the project?

No, not at all! And, as long as they pledge before Aug. 8, they have an opportunity to get Alpha at a much lower cost than the price will eventually be at retail. On Kickstarter you can get Alpha starting at $99; at retail it will be $250.

Competitor.com: Triathletes will be curious to know if it will work while you bike and run.

Dickinson: Alpha is truly amazing because you can get your ECG accurate heart rate even while you are running at speeds as fast as 12mph. And there is no problem getting your heart rate during high-intensity biking.

Competitor.com: Is it waterproof?

Dickinson: Alpha is waterproof so it is the ideal product for the triathlete. It can go from the swim to the bike to the run with no worries.

Competitor.com: Will it work with other devices, such as bike computers?

Dickinson: Absolutely. There are a lot of products out there like GPS devices and bike computers that use a low-energy communication protocol called ANT+. Alpha is instantly compatible with those devices, and we have a Bluetooth 4.0 version as well to allow for communication to the smartphone.

Competitor.com: When and where will triathletes be able to buy the Alpha heart rate monitor?

Dickinson: We will be delivering Alpha in November to our Kickstarter supporters. After that it will be available directly from us on Mioglobal.com and eventually through retail outlets, like sporting goods stores.

Competitor.com: Any plans to pair this technology with GPS?

Dickinson: We definitely want to implement GPS into this product. However, the most important thing at this point in time is to finally deliver accurate, strapless continuous heart rate to the athlete—and to do that really, really well.

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